Moonstone: A Worm Alt-Power Fic
by The Coffee Guru
Summary: A response to a prompt asking for a villainous but non-evil Taylor. Different powers, changes to canon to be revealed in the story. I will update this summary as the story progresses.
1. Chapter 1

**Moonstone**

I had visited the Forsberg Gallery earlier in the day, taking on the role of tourist. I've been here twice before, once as part of a school field trip and once with Mom. The place hadn't changed much in the intervening years. Sure, some of the artwork had been moved around, there were signs of cracks to the front facade from some cape fight or another, but the interior layout was relatively unchanged. For tonight's visit, the stagnation would be working in my favor.

Walking into the restroom of the diner I was in, I looked at myself in the mirror. Fifteen years old, 5'8" tall with curly black hair, pale skin, brown eyes and a wide and expressive mouth. Once upon a time I had been ashamed of the way I look. Surrounded by popular and beautiful girls who did nothing but denigrate everything about me, the only physical characteristic I had still been able to take pride in was my hair, so much like my mothers. Of course things were different now. When one had the options that I had, it was easier to appreciate all of the parts that make up the whole.

Locking the door behind me, I turned and faced the mirror again. A faint golden glow suffused my body and, in the blink of an eye, I shrank down. In between one breath and the next I went from abnormally tall to ridiculously small, easily standing at eye level with the roach that I could see scurrying under the sink. I took off my backpack and began to pull off my street clothes. The oversized green jacket, brown corduroy pants, orange t-shirt, all went into the bag. From the front pocket I pulled out my mask. Nothing fancy as far as Cape masks go, basically a slightly oversized domino mask. Tieing it on, I wedged the backpack with my street clothes inside of the small crack under the sink. I'm pretty sure Mister Roach won't steal it.

Fully changed, I returned to my normal size. In the mirror I took a moment to appreciate my costumed self. Dark red leggings and turtleneck with a so-dark-purple-it's-black tunic over top, red sash at my waist. Sure, it was a homemade costume, but it was mine. Reaching over to unlock the bathroom door, golden light again suffused the room as I shrank back down, racing under the door and quickly making my way out of the diner. Across the street I had a date with some fine art.

My short villainous career has served to reinforce lessons learned in another life. It is okay to break the rules, so long as you don't get caught doing so. If you can't avoid leaving evidence behind, make sure that witnesses won't be a problem. With those thoughts in mind, I slipped underneath the doors in front of the Forsberg Gallery and sprinted along the wall to my left, heading for an office I noted during my visit earlier today.

Security.

Peeking into the open room, I could see a guard, seated behind a desk with a bank of monitors to his right. Each monitor showed a different part of the gallery, flickering between two to three locations every few seconds. I stayed put and watched the guard (his lunchbox proclaimed his name to either be ROGER or BAD ASS SECURITY MOFO) for the better part of two hours. Long enough to watch him release the second security guard for a meal break. I never laid eyes on the second guard, the exchange was all done over the radio. Still, the wording used told me what I wanted to know.

"Roger I'm heading out to Mister D's for a hoagie, you want something?"

"Naaaa, I'm good. How long you gonna be?"

"This time of night? Half an hour. You got this?"

Roger grunted as he stood up from the desk.

"Yeah, I'll go walk the gallery until you get back."

I watched as Roger picked up a portable radio from the desk and slid it into the holster on his belt. Sprinting into the office, I took up position just under the front of his desk and waited. I didn't have to wait long. Roger took out his flashlight, aimed it at his face and flicked it on and off a few times before reholstering it, shaking his head and blinking. I used the distraction to come out from under the desk, soft golden light suffusing the room as I embiggened myself back to normal size...and then some. Behind Roger I loomed eight feet tall. I wrapped my arms around him, one pinning his arms to his side, the other overly large hand covering his face. The overweight security guard began to thrash, panicking as some unknown force held him hostage. I lifted Roger from the ground, stepping back from the door and into the middle of the room so that none of his flailing limbs would connect with the door, walls or furniture.

A little over a minute later and Roger was out. Lowering him gently to the ground, I relieved the man of his keys, flashlight, and radio. Zipties and a gag later and Roger was tucked in for the night. I turned off the light and closed the office door behind me.

Now that Roger the Security Guard was behind me, I was on the clock. Unnamed Security Helper #1 would be back in under half an hour. Fortunately this was not an impulse shopping trip. I knew exactly what I was after and where it was to be found. During my tour earlier today I noted that the Cytern Rubies were still on display. While I have never been one for jewelry, the appraised value of the rubies was in the neighborhood of $250,000.00. And the Gallery was so nice as to leave them out on display. Swinging Roger;s keyring around on my index finger as I made my way up the stairs, I couldn't help but whistle a jaunty little tune as I contemplated what I would do with the money. When I heard the tune whistled back from upstairs, my good mood soured.

I ran up the stairs, my legs stretching much further than a normal humans could, allowing me to climb the flights in seconds flat. Standing next to the Cytern display, dressed in red and black motley with a white painted face, was Circus. Fuck.

Coming to a stop at the entrance to the display, I took stock of what was in front of me. The rubies were still under the glass. Circus had her sack slung over a shoulder, which could mean she was on her way in, or on her way out. Either way, the rubies were still in play.

"Circus, fancy running into you here."

A nod and a smile.

"Are you doing the mime thing again?"

She held out her hand, fingers together, and shook it a little.

"So, only kind of a mime?"

A nod. ARGH!

"Well far be it from me to get in the way of a cape in pursuit of an honest day's robbery, but I was planning on picking up those rubies. We're not going to have a problem are we?"

Again the hand wave.

"What do you want?"

The (for now) silent cape pointed to the rubies, then held up seven fingers...one for each stone. She gestured to me with two of the fingers, and brought the other five back towards her chest.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Why would I let you take that many?"

A shrug.

"No, you know what, fuck you. I've been here for hours trying to do this the right way. Guards out of the way, keys in hand. In and out with the rubies. I'm not going to just give most of them to you because you happened to be up the stairs before me."

There, that sounded sufficiently forceful. Circus seemed to agree with me. She held up her fingers again, this time with the numbers reversed. Five for me, two for her. I nodded.

"That is acceptable."

Circus stepped back from the display, giving me a half bow and allowing me the space to get up close. I started going through the keys, looking for one that looked like it might fit the display. According to my watch, I still had about ten minutes before I could start expecting the other security guard to get back. For her part, Circus placed her bag on the ground and began to root around inside of it. Shit, none of these keys look like they will fit. Circus began tapping her foot, obviously impatient with my lack of progress.

"Um, maybe I grabbed the wrong keys?"

The other cape took on a look of extreme understanding. Damn but her face was expressive. Reaching forward, she patted me on the shoulder. Then she reached back into her bag. A few moments of digging around again, and she began to pull out…...A FUCKING SLEDGEHAMMER?

"NO!"

But I was too late. One swing of the hammer later and….the glass didn't shatter into a thousand pieces. Instead is gained a couple of deep cracks. And alarms began blaring throughout the Gallery. Circus wound up for another swing. Fuck it, in for a penny, in for a pound. A soft golden glow suffused my right arm as I reached back and up, my fist embiggening until it was easily the size of vending machine. Circus caught on the what I was doing and backflipped out of the way. I couldn't help but sigh.

"Was that really necessary?"

Circus gave me a thumbs up as I brought my fist down, well and truly destroying the case covering the rubies. I reached down for them when four throwing knives stuck into the ground...between each of my fingers.

"What is your fucking problem?!"

Circus pointed to her hammer, than to the rubies. Again with the fingers. Four to me, three to her. The blaring of the alarms filled me with not a small amount of urgency.

"Fine, four three split, catch!"

I tossed three of the bubies over my shoulder. I did not hear them hit the ground. Snatching up the four remaining stones, I slipped them into a hidden pocket in my uniform and dashed for the stairs. Circus was already out of sight. I made it as far as the landing between the first and second story before the rest of my night went the rest of the way up shit creek.

"FREEZE!"

Say what you will about Aegis, the flying brick cuts a nice figure in his costume. Also, fucking Circus and fucking Wards. Still, I might as well try to rally. I give Aegis my best shit eating grin.

"Sorry, I think I got lost, I was looking for the gift shop?"

"I think it's closed, but we have a really nice one back at base."

Aaaaaaaand there was Clockblocker, coming in from the other direction, a woozy Roger behind him.

"You know what? This is probably a bad time. I'll just let myself out and come back during normal business hours."

Several things happened at the same time. The golden glow that signaled my changes began to shine through my skin and costume. Aegis took to the air, flying right at me. Clockblocker ran towards the visible exit doors, his hand outstretched. As Aegis neared me I turned my back on him. I extended my leg as I began to run in the opposite direction. At the same time I shrank my upper body. For my first several steps I'm sure I looked ridiculous, as my top half went from normal to small to tiny while my legs tripled in length in order to cover ground. Turning a corner, I glowed again as I brought my legs down to scale with the rest of me. Aegis flew around the corner. When he didn't see me he landed and began to scan the room. As quietly as I could I tiptoed behind the Ward, making my way towards a service door.

"I know you're still here Putty. We've been briefed on you, it would be best if you turned yoursel…"

I didn't let him finish the sentence. Instead a fist the size of his entire body collided with the back of his head, flinging the Ward forward and embedding him in the wall on the far end of the hallway. I ran for the service door, yelling in my tiny voice.

"MY NAME ISN'T PUTTY!"

Entering the stairwell I popped back to my normal size before again extending my legs, chewing my way up the stairs until I came to the roof access. Behind me I could hear the service door as someone broke through it. No time left for stealth. Embiggening my fists, I smashed the metal door. Three good swings and it folded open. Running out onto the roof I was greeted with a view I never get tired of, Brockton Bay at night. Skyscrapers rising in the distance, lights hiding most of the decay you can see at street level. Still, no time to bask. I ran to the edge and dropped over the side, grabbing the ledge with my left hand and allowing my arm to extend, bungeeing my way to street level. Aegis was right behind me, soaring over the top of the Gallery before going into a sharp dive and heading for me. My feet made contact with the ground right as Clockblocker emerged from the side door, a hand to the side of his helmet.

Considering how strong Aegis was and the effects of Clockblockers time stops, I was literally between a rock and a hard place. Well, going meet tough. Tough? Meet going. I turned and ran straight for Clockblocker, raising my right fist into the air, expanding it until it was roughly the size of a trashcan. I watched as he braced his feet, his body language screaming concentration as he prepared to try and freeze me before I flattened him. At the last second I dropped the fist. Not only that, but I dropped to my knees, golden light suffusing me as I shrank, until an inch tall Taylor slid between the Wards feet. Getting to mine, I made for the manhole cover behind him and dropped through one of the finger holes in it.

I couldn't help but giggle to myself as I walked away from the sight of the conflict. Sure, I was missing part of my haul, but I would address that issue with Circus later. For now I could celebrate a still substantial payday, and another marvelous escape from the Heroes by Moonstone. All that was left was to collect my clothing and get back to my hideout.


	2. Chapter 2

Moonstone 2

"Hey Dad, sorry it's been awhile since I've come by. Before you ask, yes I'm still doing the villain thing. Yeah I know, it's not what you would have wanted for me, but I'm having a good time and getting by on my terms. I have to think that, eventually, that would have been enough for you. I got into a sort-of fight with Aegis last night. It was a pretty badass escape on my part if you ask me. I was like a size changing ninja. Flight is super overrated as a power."

I sigh, then reach out and place my hand on Dad's shoulder.

"Yeah I know, that's a lie. Flying would be awesome. Still, I got away with a pretty good score. I'm supposed to meet with my fence later today, so I should have money in the bank soon. That was probably the biggest job I've done since getting started, and it kind of fell into my lap. I'm thinking maybe I'll go back to houses for awhile, or maybe hire myself out for a bit. The fact that I escaped from a couple of Wards should give me some name value, so I could probably get a pretty good retainer."

Taking in a deep breath, I hold it for a moment or two before letting it out.

"I really miss you. Sometimes I feel guilty that I'm happy doing what I'm doing knowing that you aren't here, but I know that you would want me to be happy, so I try really hard to make it happen. Give my love to Mom, I'll try to come by and see you again before too long."

Reaching into my bag, I pull out a single flower and lay it at the feet of the slightly misshapen rock with my father's face on it. The image of Danny Hebert is that of a man bent over, as if frozen in the act of shielding someone or something else. I don't worry about being conspicuous, Memorial Park has over a hundred of these, the flash petrified remains of those caught in the Labyrinth Event. Many have flowers, candles, cards, and other mementoes at their feet. One or two have been defaced, graffiti covering the combination monuments/graves. Making a note to come back some night to try and catch those assholes in the act, I head towards the park exit. Places to be and money to collect.

For all of the grief that the ABB has brought to Brockton Bay, they easily have a monopoly on quality tea shops. Sure, the boardwalk had a nicer atmosphere over all, but for quality tea, my money belonged to the Jing Tea Shop. The free wifi didn't hurt either. I was a little early, my contact wasn't due for another fifteen minutes or so. I passed the time trolling the fanfiction section of PHO, feeling pretty good about myself. Before going to the Forsberg Gallery for the first time yesterday, I had posted the final chapter to my long running Wards Fic "Honorable Time: The Clock Stops Here," a Gallant/Clockblocker slash fic I was particularly proud of. I couldn't help but smile as I scrolled through the comments under the story.

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Topic: Honorable Time (COMPLETE)

In: Boards ► Original Content ► Creative Writing ► Real Person Fan Fiction

WardWatcher (Original Poster) (author) (Cape Fanatic)

Posted On Mar 2nd 2011:

And so ends my epic tale of forbidden love and lust in the ENE! Thanks to everyone who has been with me on this 250K word journey. I'm going to take a bit of a break, but will be back for the sequel:

"The Clock Stops Here: Graduating to the Protectorate"

[(Showing page 9 of 21)

►GstringGirl

Replied On Mar 2nd 2011:

Bravo WardWatcher! I can't wait for more!

►Thatdude (Wiki Warrior)

Replied On Mar 2nd 2011:

That ending though... if anything Clockblocker uses his power on is COMPLETELY frozen...

How on earth do you come up with this stuff?

►XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied On Mar 2nd 2011:

Here is some fan art for you

►Brilliger (Moderator: Protectorate Main)

Replied On Mar 2nd 2011:

Previous image has been removed and an infraction given. Please remember that the characters involved are both real people AND minors.

Don't let it happen again.

►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied On Mar 2nd 2011:

You know, it's not so much that I like your story (I don't, really), it's that I can see your knowledge of your characters improving dramatically over time. Who are you getting your info from?

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 ... 19, 20, 21

My reading was cut off by the ringing of the bell over the door. Looking up, I saw my contact take a few steps inside, stop and look around. Her eyes passed over me and continued on. A second later they swung back and settled on me. Fuck, how did she do that. Walking across the room, Lisa sat in the chair across from me, a small smile playing across her face.

"Well this is a new look for you. Someone you know?"

The question was accompanied by a negligent waving gesture.

"Someone I sat next to on the bus."

She was referring to how I currently looked. Standing, I would be about 5'5" tall, with grey hair and dark, gently sloped eyes. Adopting the rough appearance of a Japanese businessman I had passed earlier ensured that, of the two of us, the blonde haired white girl would be the one who stood out in the middle of the Chinese tea shop. Holding a shape like this was so much harder than the rapid size changing or stretching that made up the bulk of my power usage. Those actions were kind of like sprints. Sure a lot of changing was happening, particularly when I grew or shrank, but the motion was almost constant, so the strain wasn't too bad. Holding a shape like this? Like running a marathon, or holding a book at arm's length. Possible, but the strain would get to you over time. Still, practice makes perfect, and I had been holding this form for close to an hour now. My record was three, so I wasn't in any danger of losing it just yet. Taking another sip of my tea, I closed the laptop and wiped my lips with my napkin before addressing Lisa.

Lisa held up her hand when the waitress walked by, ordering a green tea with honey. We sat there is comfortable silence while we waited on her order to arrive. I took the opportunity to study the blonde in front of me. Pretty, with dirty blonde hair and a light sprinkling of freckles across her nose. I'm pretty sure I could nail that look if I had to. Over the last three months I have found myself going to Lisa more and more when I need to move high end items. While there are other fences out there, Lisa was by far the easiest to work with. When I had first started I had been burned a few times. While I knew the names of a few Dockworkers who Dad had said moved merchandise from time to time, I hadn't wanted to risk being found out. This had lead me to a scuzzy piece of shit known as T-Jim. Two rip offs and a fight with Skidmark later, and I was done going through gang contacts. Running into Lisa had been a bit of good fortune.

"I take it there weren't any problems on your end?"

She replied with a smirk.

"Never on my end. I keep telling you though, if you could give me more notice, I could get you better deals. More money for you, more commision for me. Of course, it would also be good if you provided me with the agreed upon merchandise."

Ouch, that hurt me right in my professionalism.

"Sorry, I ran into some unexpected competition."

"Circus?"

"How did you know? No wait, don't tell me. I really don't want to know."

I swear she pouted. Reaching into her messenger bag, Lisa produced a manilla folder, sliding it across the table. Flipping through the pages within, I found a series of sudoku puzzles. Together with the cypher she had asked me to memorize, I was able to pull out account details. Apparently my ruby haul, minus processing fees, came to just shy of $100,000 dollars. I couldn't help but to whistle at what I was reading.

"Good enough?"

"Oh yes, my biggest payday by far. When will it be available?"

"Well, I had to go to a few different buyers. In the end I was able to move all of them, but the sales are staggered. Expect three roughly equal increments, with the first available by the time we walk out of here. Is that everything?"

Closing the folder, I sat up straighter in the chair, trying to project some professionalism.

"Actually I did have something else."

Lisa arched an eyebrow in that annoyingly knowing way that I had become used to.

"With this being my highest profile score so far, I was thinking about getting some backup. If nothing else, it could help prevent situations like I ran into last night. So…."

Lisa leaned in closer to me, her mirth obvious.

"Soooooooooooooo?"

"So I thought I might take you up on your offer. Consider me available for hire. No drugs, no murder. I'm open to negotiation for gross bodily harm, but reserve the right to say no."

Again with the smile.

"Works for me. In fact, I have something in the works I think you would be perfect for. I need to talk it over with the others first though. Turn on the burner I gave you tonight between 8 and 10 and I'll let you know one way or the other. Deal?"

I reached across the table and shook her hand.

"Deal."

Leaving the tea shop behind me, I made my way to the cross town bus stop. On my way there I ducked into a gas station restroom and came out of it as myself. I got on the bus and spent an hour just riding around, people watching. Mom and I used to do this, she said that it gave her the perfect opportunity to observe the little nuances in people that make for great characters. As much of an academic as she was, I knew that she had written four novels. All sadly unpublished. They had been kept in binders in her office. After she dies, Dad had moved them to the attic. In the mess following the Labyrinth incident, they were seized with the rest of the property in the house. Getting them back had been among my first forays into criminality. Stealing bank auction records, breaking and entering. All for free, but I was happy with the results. On the bookshelf in my little apartment were Mom's books, there for me to read whenever I felt like it.

Of course, people watching served a different purpose for me than it had for Mom. Exposure to more people meant more faces for me to rob. The fact that the same people rode the same routes day after day meant I could pull a face appropriate to whatever part of the city I might find myself in. So far no one except Lisa was aware of this aspect to my power. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it that way forever, but hey, take whatever advantage you can get. When I got tired of riding the bus, I excited just off of the boardwalk. There was a nice gazebo here that was within wi-fi range of the promenade. Opening my laptop again, I noted that thirty thousand dollars had in fact been deposited into my account. I moved twenty thousand of it, arranging transfers of ten thousand apiece to two charities. While making sure that I didn't go without, I always made a point of throwing some money towards the Children's Literacy Council for Mom, and the Dockworkers Relief Fund for Dad. I had no illusions of myself as some kind of Robin Hood. The money I stole was for me. I had fun doing it, I was good at it, and it let me get by. Still, remembering was important. Especially with a power like mine. It is important to remember who you are, and where you come from. For me, that meant doing something to contribute to the things that were vital to my parents in life. Good deeds for the day accomplished, I headed back to my apartment.

A few minutes after eight that night my phone received a message from Lisa.

"Want to rob a bank?"


	3. Chapter 3

Moonstone 3

"Rob a bank? Are you out of your mind?"

Lisa laughed at me through the phone, managing to sound both indulgent and impatient at the same time.

"Come on Moonstone, you should know me better than that by now. It's only a bank robbery in so far as we would be taking things from the bank that, strictly speaking, don't belong to us. Now don't be stubborn, I've arranged a meeting with the other party. If you don't like what is discussed, you can walk away, and I'll even pay you to keep quiet about the job. Deal?"

Well, that didn't sound too bad. Sighing, I spoke back into the phone.

"Deal. When and where?"

"I have a place. Loft apartment above the bodega on Fifth and Peters. Come in through the alley door on the Peters side, the code is 7460. Noon tomorrow sound good? Sushi is on me."

"Noon is good."

Hanging up the phone, I walked into my kitchen. As apartments go, mine wasn't anything to write home about. Three bedrooms, one and a half baths, combined kitchen and dining area, living space, laundry area. I had one of the bedrooms set up as an office with a nice desk, decent laptop, and bookcases along all of the walls. The second bedroom was set up for guests. One of these days, I might actually have some. The apartment itself was on the ninth floor of a building just west of Captains Hill, sitting on a westward facing corner. While I didn't have a view of the Bay, I did get to sit on my balcony and enjoy breathtaking sunsets over the mountains in the distance.

In the kitchen I filled a kettle and placed it on the stove. Sure, an electric kettle would be faster, but the ritual was important to me. While the water heated I opened a cabinet and pulled out my preferred mug. It was really intended for coffee, but I don't think Dad minds. Double the size of a regular coffee cup, it was white with the golden outline of the Protectorate logo on it. Inside of the logo the cup read:

Danny Hebert

Super-Dad

Placing a teabag into the cup, I moved back to the whistling kettle and poured the water. Adding just a dab of honey and grabbing a spoon, I walked out onto my balcony with the steeping tea. Life was good, and I was looking forward to my meeting with Lisa and whatever partner she wanted me to work with. Smiling as I took the first sip of my tea, I kicked my feet up and relaxed, visions of a bright future dancing in my mind.

I pulled my mask out of my pocket as I approached the back door to the Peters Street Bodega. Keeping it hidden in the palm of my left hand, I entered the door code with my right hand, slipping out of the alley and into the building. I tied the mask on, then relaxed, a soft golden glow briefly lighting up the stairwell as my body reverted to its normal form. Slipping off my trench coat, I folded it over my arm and walked up the single flight up stairs until I was standing at a dingy looking white door, faint voices could be heard coming from the other side. I gave the door three sharp knocks, then waited. I could hear the voices stop, it was quiet for a moment.

"Come in!"

Squaring my shoulders, I turned the knob and entered. Walking into the apartment I was treated to a pair of girls roughly in my age range. Sitting on a ratty couch was a dirty blonde, wearing a black bodysuit with an open v-neck which plunged deep enough that it would have been fairly risque if not for the purple undershirt. That shirt had a barely visible eye printed onto it. A loose belt was strapped around her waist, various pouches attached to it. A purple domino mask, matching the undershirt, was on her face, neatly hiding the freckles that I knew to be there. Standing up, the Cape Who Is Obviously Lisa walked towards me with her hand outstretched. Taking mine, she gave a hearty shake.

"Moonstone, I'm glad you could make it. You can call me Tattletale, it's really good to finally meet you."

"Yeah, good to finally meet you too. For the first time."

I'm awesome at lying.

With a slight sigh, Tattletale turned to direct my attention to the other obvious Cape in the room. Standing in the kitchenette was a short female cape dressed in flowing robes, a dark burgandy in color. She also sported a domino mask, but added to this a cowl connected to a cape which was currently thrown back over her shoulders, but was obviously intended to drape completely over her body. On her chest in gold embroidery was the image of a tree. Tattletale continued to play the part of good host.

"And this is Yggdrasil."

Yggdrasil inclined her head in my direction before walking over to a little table and taking a seat. Tattletale followed suit, taking up a place at the head of the table. Getting the jist of what was expected, I took the third and final chair. The table itself was covered with documents, bank statements, internal memos and the like. Settling into my chair, I addressed myself to the group.

"So… bank robbery for fun and profit. Tell me more."

Tattletale began.

"When I asked Moonstone here about robbing a bank, she had obvious concerns. Namely that it's stupid and way more risk than reward, right?"

"That about sums it up."

"Right. Now I will admit I didn't describe exactly what the job was going to be, mostly for dramatic effect, but rest assured, we are not trying to walk into a bank vault and walk out with money."

I leaned back in my chair, making myself comfortable. Also, the opposite from the way that Yggdrasil was looking. The new cape, obscured as she was by her costume, exuded tension.

"So far so good. Though, if we aren't going in for money, in what way is this a paying job?"

"That would be me."

For the first time Yggdrasil spoke up. Her voice was soft, with a hint of an accent I couldn't place.

"There are assets which belong to me. They were set aside by certain members of my….family, who are no longer able to ensure I receive them. Given the reasons involved, those assets will likely languish until I turn 18. Even then, there is a risk that the rest of my family might try to siphon them off well before then. I want to prevent that from happening."

I frowned a little as I dissected what she had just said.

"So….you want us to steal your trust fund?"

For the first time emotion entered her voice. Unfortunately, I seem to have triggered a scorn grenade.

"No, I don't want you to _steal my trust fund_. It is a bit bigger than that."

I turned and looked at Tattletale.

"What exactly are we talking about here?"

Tattletale exchanged a glance with Yggdrasil, who slowly nodded. Tattletale then addressed herself to me.

"Before she was Yggdrasil, our prospective partner here went by the name Rune."

Rune.

Empire 88.

"What does that have to do with this? The Empire isn't really around anymore."

Yggdrasil spoke up again.

"No they aren't. With the leadership and most of the muscle wiped out, what was left imploded. What _was_ left though were assets. Money, land, other valuable property. Sitting in a bank under Kaiser's civilian identity."

I sat up straighter in my chair.

"Wait a second, if all of that is still there, how come the PRT never seized it?"

Tattletale supplied the answer.

"Because they never found out his civilian identity. An identity that is still supposed to be alive and well."

"I'm sorry, I'm still not following."

Yggdrasil gave me my answer.

"Kaiser was a man named Max Anders."

"Oh course, Max Anders!"

Tattletale and Yggdrasil gave me surprised looks.

"Wait a minute, I have literally no idea who that is."

Tattletale snorted just a bit as she sipped a glass of water. Yggdrasill shook her head before continuing.

"My family is affiliated….. _was_ affiliated with Empire 88. When I joined the Empire, they took it as a boon. Establishing ties with the bigger kids on the playground kind of thing. Kaiser looked at it as a recruitment avenue. If I came over, more could follow. As an enticement, he set up a trust fund for me."

"HA! TRUST FUND!"

"A _trust fund for me_ , as well as an operational slush fund that was supposed to be under my control when he felt like I was ready. The idea was I would go back home and bring the Empire with me or something like that."

"But he's dead now," Tattletale said, "meaning that both the trust and the slush fund are in limbo. As far as the bank knows, he is still alive."

"But, hasn't he been 'missing' for almost a year now?"

I was treated to a dark laugh from Yggdrasill.

"As if anyone would let that happen. Gesellschaft is keeping alive the idea the Mr. Max Anders is doing the whole playboy thing in Europe at the moment, eccentric CEO off trying to find himself."

"And Medhall isn't any wiser?"

Tattletale pulled a sheet of paper out of one of the folders on the table, sliding it over to me.

"Some people there probably know. There is an interim CEO running things over there. In all honesty the secret racists within the company are biding their time waiting to see if Gesellschaft or one of the E88 survivors decides to step up here."

Yggdrasil had bristled a little bit when Tattletale had said the word racists. Here though she scoffed.

"Yeah, no fucking way I'm going anywhere near that. At this point I just want the money that I should have received, and then I am all about doing my own thing."

Why can't I help myself?

"So, you're not a racist anymore?"

"What I am is my own fucking person, is that ok with you?"

I held my hands up in a placating manner.

"Hey! You do you, I'm cool."

"Ok then."

Standing up, I backed up a few steps before turning and facing the group again.

"So background material covered. Can we get to what the plan is?"

Tattletale smiled and pulled something out of another one of her folders. Sliding it across the table to me face down, I picked it up and turned it over. I was looking at a photograph of a rather handsome man, somewhere between his late twenties and early thirties. Leaning back in her chair, Tattletale laced her fingers behind her head.

"How would you like to become Max Anders for a day?"

For all of the hype about "robbing a bank," once started the job itself was actually pretty boring. I spent the better part of a week meeting with Tattletale and Yggdrasil, working on my Max Anders impersonation. The physical part involved a lot of fine tuning that left me exhausted. While I had access to pictures for his face, there was only limited video avaliable for me to get a sense of his body and how he moved. This is where Yggdrasil came in handy. She would critique _everything_.

"No, Max was taller."

"No, the voice is deep enough, but not _resonant_ enough."

"Your walk needs to be more forceful, move like you own the room."

A couple of birthday cards gave me a template for his signature, which Tattletale had me work on until my hand cramped up. Considering that holding his form for as long as I have been was taxing enough already, the hand cramps were almost a bridge too far. Still, after a week of fairly intense prep work, Tattletale and Yggdrasil proclaimed me ready.

Step one of the plan involved a phone call. While we were confident in my ability to appear to be Max Anders, he hadn't been seen in Brockton Bay in almost a year and, barring one trip to the bank, we wanted to keep it that way. While I had been working on my acting method, Tattletale was doing her...thing, digging into social media accounts, ferreting out passwords and the like. Intel gathered, we began with a phone call.

"Brockton Bay Central Bank, how may I direct your call?"

"Executive Account Management please."

"And who may I say is calling?"

"Max Anders...," I looked over at Tattletale who was listening in on her own headset. She scribbled onto a whiteboard and held it up for me to see.

"...Jenny. Don't tell me you didn't recognize my voice." I put the smallest amount of hurt with a topping of playful flirtation into the voice.

"Mister Anders, of course not. Please hold for Sydney is Executive Accounts."

Tinny muzak played over the line while we were on hold. After a couple of minutes passed, a rich baritone picked up the line.

"Is this Max?"

"Of course it is. Sydney how the hell have you been doing?"

"Excellent, thank you for asking. I have to be honest Max, after not hearing from you for so long, I was a little worried about you."

"I appreciate the worry, but I just needed some distance. I'm not getting any younger you know, decided to go sow some wild oats while the getting was good." Argh I was a pig. Still, the approving nod from Yggdrasil meant I was an in character pig. For his part, Sydney allowed himself an obvious belly laugh.

"Still, you know I have to ask…"

"Say no more. Epsilon-Tango-Eight-Eight-Woden-One."

A more honestly relaxed Sydney responded.

"Code checks out, what can I do for you Max?"

"It was recently made clear to me that, though I am entitled to run wild every now and again, I have neglected certain responsibilities. I would like to schedule a time to come in and release a couple of trusts that I have set up. The recipient is more than ready for access."

"Is that all? We can make that happen. Are business hours good for you?"

Now for the fishy part.

"Actually I'm out of the country at the moment. I will be flying into Brockton Bay tomorrow for a brief layover before continuing on to California. Is there anyway we can pass by between seven and nine tomorrow night?"

A pause filled the line.

Finally.

"For you Max, I'll keep the lights on. See you tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night it is then."

I hung up the phone and relaxed, a soft golden glow suffusing my body as I resumed my normal shape.

Yggdrasil brought me a glass of water which I accepted and downed in a single gulp.

"Easy part done Moonstone. Tomorrow night, the risk is real."

Tattletale stood up, arching her back as she stretched.

"Come on guys, what's the worst that could happen?"


	4. Chapter 4

Moonstone 4

The sun shone down brightly if a bit intense. Any other day and the heat would have felt oppressive. Today though there was a strong breeze blowing in from the east, carrying with it the scent of the ocean. Dad and I had been a little distant since mom passed away. The bullying didn't help. Still, from time to time each of us would make an effort. This might be him providing a home cooked meal, or me sitting next to him on the couch as he watched the evening news before going to bed. Often times these efforts felt like they were worthless, ships passing in the night. Sometimes though, when we tried at the same time...things were better.

Waking up fet more like entering a dream than leaving one. The smell of bacon, cooking pancakes, the sound of music playing on the old radio in the kitchen, and an off-key voice crooning along with the oldies...these were the sounds and smells of before. I followed them downstairs and found Dad in the kitchen in full blown weekend breakfast mode. The center of the table was covered in the results of his work, plates of food waiting to be served. Two places were made up, plates and glasses and silverware. Just two places. The third was resolutely empty. For some reason though...I was ok with it. Dad noticed me standing in the door of the kitchen and showed me a slightly hesitant smile. I walked over to the table and sat down, returning it.

"Smells great Dad."

The hesitant smile instantly transformed into a thousand watt grin, Dad seating himself across the table from me and taking up the task of serving out the food.

"Thanks Taylor, always good to know that the poison isn't obvious."

I placed a tea bag into the mug next to my placemat, poured some water from the kettle on the table into it, and sat back, letting my tea begin to steep.

"Special occasion?"

"Nope. I just thought we might go out and enjoy the weather. A good meal to start the day, then meandering around the city with the old man, how does that sound?"

Again the slight hesitation to his body language. I picked up a slice of bacon from my plate and took a bite, chewing it slowly before washing it down with a sip of water.

"That sounds like a really good idea."

I wake up from the dream smiling. I know that some might find it weird, smiling at the memory of the last morning I had with my Dad, but it was a good one. The whole day had been great, right up until it ended. I refused to let the reality of the loss define my outlook on life. No matter the truth of what had happened, the results are irrevocably the same. I am on my own in the world, but I will forever have in my past parents that loved me and who would want me to be happy. Stretching out under the covers (which in itself takes on new meaning when you are as potentially stretchy as I am), I enjoyed the warmth of the blankets for another couple of moments before kicking them off and jumping out of the bed. I could feel a smile slowly make its way across my face. Today I was going to rob a bank.

And it would be awesome.

My daily routines take care of themselves with an efficiency that borders on autopilot. Breakfast is a simple affair, a soft fried egg on a toasted english muffin, glass of orange juice and a cup of tea. While drinking the tea I log onto my non-villainous laptop and check all of my regular sites. I read some national news before switching to the local stuff. I skim over an article about my jewel heist, something about one of the rubies having been recovered during a bust in Seattle. As tempting as it might be, I avoid commenting on the article. With the existence of superpowered brains in the world, it didn't seem prudent to try and be sly in that way. I pay my electric bill and feel very grown up in doing so. I pop over to PHO and head to the creative writing board. Hits on my last story have gone down in frequency. I sigh a little. It has been almost two weeks since I completed that story, a slowdown in traffic was inevitable. I was just about to close out of the forum when a new thread caught my eye.

 **Time of the Moon- A Moonstone/Clockblocker OTP**

My mind goes completely blank. There was a fanfic involving Moonstone. I am Moonstone. I AM MOONSTONE! I have reached fanfic status! I was just about to click the thread when I stopped myself. No…..whatever the story, good or bad, it was to be savored. I think I will read it sometime after the bank job. It is important to exercise restraint. Just as important is the notion of rewarding yourself for your efforts. With no small amount of effort I closed the laptop and got up from the table, bringing my dishes to the sink. A few minutes spent washing and putting them away and I was ready to get dressed and start my day.

I know Tattletale wanted things kept low-key until the job was done...but the last weeks worth of work on my Max Anders disguise had helped me to understand an aspect of my power. The more I exercised it's general use (stretching, size change and the like), the easier it was to hold a different body shape. The closest comparison I can think of is that it is like limbering up before exercising. If you stretch really well beforehand, you can run longer without feeling the strain, and you recover easier. With that thought in mind I slipped on my Moonstone costume and checked myself over in the mirror. Satisfied with the image of badassery I was greeted with, I shrank down and ran under the door and into the hallway of the apartment complex. It was time for some shenanigans.

Brockton Bay's boardwalk was a perennial destination for the wealthy, the hip, and those who strove to be or imitate either of the two. Shops sold high end fashion, electronics, artisan foods and high quality crafts. The section of beach below the boardwalk was among the most pristine on the eastern seaboard. Sure, going too far north or south would lead you to the boat graveyard or the overly rusted industrial corridor, but this one section with it's view of the Protectorate Rig was religiously cleaned and maintained. As such, even now in the cooler weather of early spring, both the beach and the boardwalk itself were heavily trafficked.

I prowled along the rooftops on the sea-facing side of the walk, maintaining my small size in an effort to avoid notice. As a rule I didn't come here as a villain too often. While it was always a good place to find those who could stand to be separated from some of their money (and honestly, shopping down here was practically an admission of the desire to be robbed), I enjoy some variety to my criminality. Still, with the impending bank job, starting the day with a touch of the familiar would be reassuring.

As I scoped the pedestrian traffic, a shadow briefly passed overhead. I felt a moment of….something. Some weird combination of fear and joy? Elation? Fearlation maybe? Before I could begin wondering as to the cause, the answer revealed itself to me. Victoria Dallon touched down on the Boardwalk below me. The corners of my mouth curled upwards, my inner monologue deciding to escape for a moment.

"What's this life? An opportunity? For me? You shouldn't have."

I stood up and began running along the edge of the rooftop, keeping pace with the blonde heroine. Timing my next action I hit the edge of the building and jumped. A few seconds later I shrank as small as I could while I landed inside of Victoria Dallon purse. I had timed my jump to the rhythm of her walk, landing while the purse was on a downswing. Holding my breath for what seemed like an eternity, I waited for her to look inside the purse. Instead she walked into what smelled like a coffee shop and sat the bag down on the counter.

"One large orange mocha frappachino please."

YES! Now for the hard part. A relatively ginormous hand reached into the bag and pulled out a billfold. I watched through the opening as Glory Girl withdrew a credit card. One swipe later and the billfold was placed back inside of the purse, the bag lifted, and the rocking motion I associated with movement began. Moving carefully myself, I pushed the billfold open enough so that I could read off the numbers from the card. Some more scrounging and a state issued id card gave me a home address. I experienced a moment of hesitation. Could this be interpreted as breaking the rules? I'm going to say no. This crime is indistinguishable from something I could have (and have) done to anyone.

Pulling out my burner, I opened up the browser and made my way to . Victoria Dallon was about to buy new computers for Winslow High School. Let's hear it for same day shipping.

 **TWO HOURS LATER**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY CARD'S BEEN DECLINED?!

1800 hours. For an operation this cloak and daggery, I felt like military time was appropriate. After leaving Glory Girl behind to deal with the fallout of not being able to pay for clothes, I had made my way around the city. No real criminal hijinks, mostly just practicing my own brand of free running. As neat as flying or superspeed might have been, there is something inherently cool about shifting size and shape seamlessly as you move up and down buildings, over and under obstacles, selectively revealing yourself or avoiding the public eye. I had stayed well clear of ABB territory. While none of those guys had a beef with me (to the best of my knowledge), Parahumans sometimes just fought. So far I had avoided really being one of _those_ capes. I mean, other than the occasional throw down with Vista. Given my powers vs her powers, that just made for headache inducing fights for anyone else involved.

Note to self, fight Vista more.

Anyway, it was now 1800 hours and I was sitting in a van at the airport with Tattletale and Yggdrasil. Feeling good and lose, I slowly clenched my….everything. A soft golden glow suffused my…..everything and my body was no longer my body. Instead I was Jacob Lightner, airport security guard. The actual Jacob was sitting in the front of the van, counting the thousand dollars he had been paid, half of the total amount he would be receiving for not going to work today. Instead I, as he, would be entering the airport, and then exiting a bathroom as one Max Anders, off to be met by my pre-booked rental car. Then off to the bank.

Unless something went wrong.

Rental cars are nice. Even nicer when you don't have to drive them. This is especially true when you don't know how to drive except in theory. But hey, turns out that planning helps to limit the chances of things not going right. It is for that reason that I, in the form of Max Anders, find myself stepping out of the rental car in front of Brockton Bay Central Bank. I turn to the driver and extend a $100 bill.

"This shouldn't take too long, keep the car running?"

Taking the crisp bill, the driver touches his hat in a small salute.

"Sure thing Mr. Anders."

I walk up the steps of the bank. The lobby is dark, but I can see office lights on in the back. A shadowy figure is standing just inside of the glass door. Taking the steps at a slow, confident walk, I am rewarded by Yggdrasil in my earpiece.

"Good job Moonstone. You are giving me the fucking willies watching you go. Keep it up."

The rightmost door is pushed open from within as I approach, revealing the man who I know from photographs to be Mr. Sydney Leblanc.

"Sydney, long time now see."

A smile for a smile. As I reach the threshold I accept his proffered hand and match him grip for grip.

"Mr. Anders, the same. Please follow me to my office and we will get everything taken care of."

It is always weird to be walking through a building during those times when it is supposed to be empty. Whether it's someone's house, an art gallery, a school, or in this case a bank…..it just feels off. Normally I don't let such thoughts bother me. I think it is different this time because I'm being escorted. Still, guard up and all of that.

Sydney's office was a nice one. A corner job on the second floor of the bank, big desk, expensive looking brik-a-brak on the bookshelves, a nice looking PC, and a stack of papers. Ushering me into an (obscenely comfortable) chair, Sydney walked around the desk and took a seat behind it. Straightening the stack of papers now in between us, Sydney pulled a golden pen from his breast pocket.

"And now we begin."

Tattletale and Yggdrasil sat in the van down the street from the bank. Max Anders!Moonstone had gone through the front door almost an hour ago. Listening in as she was, Tattletale was on edge, but not overly worried. Having ambled into outright villainy mostly through no fault of her own, she was in it mostly for the excitement. Being a fence and information broker wasn't cutting it in the way it used to when she had first gotten away from _him_ , and Moonstone seemed like a good person to work with. No real agenda other than enjoying life, with a healthy distrust of authority. Still, something was nagging her about how long this was taking. While she tried to tease an answer from her power, her thoughts were interrupted by her erstwhile partner in this particular crime.

"FUCK!"

"What?"

Yggdrasil pointed out the tinted window in the back of the van. Rapidly descending from the sky above the bank was a brilliant white light. It descended until it was in front of a second floor window. Then, with a pulse of light and an explosion of glass, the figure entered the building.

The two villains locked eyes with each other and spoke as one.

"Purity."

"And that is the last one."

I rubbed my aching wrist after I slid the paper back across the desk. God damn I was tired. Holding the form is hard enough, remembering all of the acting, the little quirks of voice and expression needed to sell it, while at the same time pretending to read fine print and signing my fake signature over and over again….. I was done.

But at least I was done.

Sydney had been scanning documents and making entries on the computer the entire time I had been doing paperwork. An honest smile crossed my face as he scanned and entered the last signature page.

"And there you go Mister Anders. Those trusts are now fully within the hands of the designated trustee. I'm sorry you have to go, but it has been a pleasure seeing you again."

I stood up and shook the man's hand, working to keep from telegraphing the exhaustion I felt.

"Not a problem Sydney, maybe next time…"

Behind Sydney a blinding white light shone through the window. I had just enough presence of mind to thrown an arm up and cover my eyes before I was thrown backwards, an inward shower of glass and force bombarding me. I felt dozens of jolts of pain as glass entered my body. Poor Sydney was sprawled over his desk, not moving except for shuddering breaths. Behind the desk a woman stood. Shorter than I normally am, her face obscured by the blinding glow of her radiant light. A voice filled with venom tore itself from her throat, communicating a single word.

"Max!"

****Authors Note***

Sorry for the cliff hanger. I want more time to get the rest of this done, but feel like getting this part of it up now. I am off work this weekend, so if the next part doesn't go up tonight, it will be up this weekend.

Two things:

Yes there is a reason Purity is here, it will be explained in the next chapter, though I will be surprised if no one figures it out first.

Second…. Open solicitation. Anyone want to try their hand at an opening blurb for " **Time of the Moon- A Moonstone/Clockblocker OTP"**?


	5. Chapter 5

Moonstone 5

"Max!"

The name was said with the force of an expletive. Normally I would have tried to come up with some semi-witty retort. At the moment though….not so much. The force of the blast had thrown me backwards into the bookcases behind me. While I had managed to get my arms up in front of my face, I still had dozens of cuts, embedded glass having torn into much of my upper body. For his part, Sydney was almost folded in half over the top of his oh so expensive desk. The ragged breathing let me know he was still alive. Now conscious was a completely different question.

Purity floated further into the office, the light radiating from her making it difficult to keep my eyes open as my mind raced, looking for the right course of action. What did I know about this Cape? She had been a member of Empire 88, but I think she had gone solo or something…..back before the incident? So it was safe to assume that she knew Kaiser was Max Anders…..with whom she seems to be pissed off at…..and who she thinks I am. A groan from Sydney stops me just as I was about to try and pop back to my normal shape. Shit, if he finds out I'm not who I appear to be….he could get the transactions stopped or reversed, making this all an exercise in futility.

Time to stall.

"Purity, you're looking….radiant this evening. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

That's right, project that swarmy….I mean smooth confidence Yggdrasil kept going on about. I let my 'Max" smile slide onto my face, doing my best not to groan in pain from my many wounds. While my body could heal, I've never really had this much damage before. The amount of blood seeping through my 'suit" was a little worrying. For her part, Purity had allowed her feet to touch the floor and was stalking slowly towards me. Whatever anger she felt towards Max Anders…..it was only building.

"Of all of the cowardly, selfish, underhanded moves you could have made, I can't believe you faked your own.."

I waggled my finger back and forth in front of her, making a shushing noise.

"Mixed company my dear."

"Mixed company? MIXED GODDAMN COMPANY!"

Purity held out her left hand towards Sydney and I had to turn my head and close my eyes. The sheer intensity of the blast left afterimages. Blinking my eyes open, I was witness to a whole in the wall...and the next wall….and the next wall...all the way to the open air at the other end of the hallway. Sydney and his desk had apparently left the building.

Maybe I was a little too smug?

Also….

"You just fucking killed that man! What the hell did Max do to you?"

"Oh hardy har har, referring to yourself in the third person now? Really rich. Speaking of, if you think you just get to fake your death, do god knows what for almost a year, and then come back and clean house you are out of your damn mind. That money is going to be mine so I can raise Aster."

Ok, this has obviously gone on long enough.

"Calm down light bulb, I can explain. You see… WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

I pointed towards the open wall that Sydney had been blasted through. In the split second that Purity's attention wavered, I sprang towards her, my normal golden glow washed out by her own luster. In the span of two steps I shrunk myself down to a couple of inches in height, dashing between her legs. Coming out behind her I reached the open window and sprang out of it, embiggening myself in the process, my left leg reaching down towards the road while my right one stretched for the roof across the street. Behind my Purity cried out in surprise before (I assume), turning and opening up on me. Why do I make such an assumption? Because something that felt like a fucking car caught me between the shoulderblades and rocketed me off the ground, spinning through the air in an arch. Below me I could see the white van containing Tattletale and Yggdrasil.

Tattletale and Yggdrasil!

I reached up and tapped the com in my ear, turning it on. Immediately Yggdrasil's voice filled my ear.

"Moonstone, Purity is inside the bank!"

"She is? Wow, maybe I can get an autograph NoWaitSheJustBlastedMeDownTheFuckingBlockHelp!"

Whatever her response was going to be was lost as I came crashing down to the street, barrel rolling a good 20 feet before coming to a stop. That hurt. I was pushing myself to my feet when the now familiar white light lit up the area around me.

"I don't know who you think you are, but we are going to settle this right here and now."

I held up my hands in what I hoped was a placating manner. Standing up I noted blood soaking lightly into the front of my costume. Shit. I knew that my healing and my shapeshifting didn't get along. If I keep having to stretch my way out of here, I might be in for some actual recovery time.

"Truce! Good idea, let's talk."

I tried to slow my breathing as Purity came in for an almost landing / hovering slightly off of the ground in order to show she is better than me….landing. Folding her arms in front of her chest, the ambiguous nazi jumped on the interrogation train.

"Why were you pretending to be Max Anders?"

What would Dad say? Honesty is the best policy, right?

"Because I wanted a lot of money that I didn't earn? How did you know I was there?"

The freaking glare from her power obscured her face. With a lack of definitive expressions, I will just assume she frowned at me.

"I have been trying to claim those assets for some time now. They were monitored. When I found out that Max was coming here in person to have them released, I assumed he had faked his death. It's…..something he would have done."

"Well that explains that. No harm, no foul. I guess I'll just be getting on my way then. Best of luck with your white power and such."

With a cheery wave I turned and started to take a very confident step in the direction of not freaking here anymore when I was stopped by a small crater appearing in the road to my right.

"About that...I'm afraid that I will need that money."

I slowly turned to face her again, doing my best to keep a calm look on my face.

"Yeah…..see the problem is that, well at this point it would take Max Anders going back into a bank, during business hours I would think, to make that happen. And seeing how he is dead and all….."

The light intensified ten fold. Yeah…. I was going to have to visit the eye doctor in the near future.

"What makes you say he's dead?"

"Ummmm, because you were pissed at him for faking his death?"

Purity rose slightly into the air. I swear I gelt the hairs on my arms rise as well.

"But you say it with such certainty. How did you know about those trusts? What exactly do you know and who are you working for?"

I watched as her fists became enveloped in glowing orbs of white brilliance. Fuck, this was going to happen.

Holding my hands up in front of me, I took a deep breath.

"Ok, I can explain. You see….."

I reached as far back as I could with my right hand, my fist growing to the size of a dumpster, before swinging with, if not all of my might, all of my speed. Her hands were just coming up to what I was learning was her preferred firing position with my fist slammed into her from above, making the flying cape perform a full body face plant into the road. Bending my knees, I sprang up as hard as I could, reaching for a street light at the end of the road and yanking myself half a block away. I turned my head and looked behind me, watching as the glowing figure pushed herself unsteadily up to her knees.

"Nazi's are stooooooooooooopid!"

And with that I was gone. Ten blocks north, five east, where I found a white van waiting for me in front of a closed movie theater. Plopping down to the road behind the van, I gave the secret knock.

"Let me the fuck in now, I'm serious!"

The back of the van opened, Tattletale and Yggdrasil pulling me inside. As soon as the doors closed I crumpled down onto my back.

"Moonstone go to sleep now, please don't let me bleed out."

And I was out.

The dream was insidious in a way. The memories that fed into it were a combination of happiness, loss, terror, and resolve. It began the way it always did, breakfast at home, reconnecting. Progressing further, there was a drive into the city, a visit to the boardwalk, and then a trip to the historic park on Captains Hill. The place was beautiful, with trees hundreds of years old, rolling hills, paved walkways. The random performer or artist could be found around the periphery, drumming, singing, painting, drawing, dancing. We had gone as a family several times a year while I was growing up. Mom and Dad would hold hands and whisper in each others ears, all while I ran around underfoot, exploring and coming back. The significance of Dad taking us here wasn't lost on me.

On another day, I might have tried broaching uncomfortable topics with him. That day though, the day the dream liked to revisit, we were both comfortable in our shared silence. It wasn't the pregnant silence of words unsaid, rather it was one of mutual understanding. Somehow, we were telling each other that it was time to move on.

A commotion in the middle of the park caught my attention. A year of bullying will do that, will make you hyper aware of conflict around you. A group of people were arguing with each other. The details of the people arguing were lost on me. Before I could process them, my eyes went instead to the girl.

"Dad, do you see that girl?"

Dad looked to where I was pointing. Under a bench, not too far from the arguing group, there was a blonde girl, no older than me in age. Her hands were clenched into fists, pressed up against her temples as she rocked back and forth, clearly terrified of something. The dream gets hazy at this point, like the memories are being blocked by something. I get flashes of screaming, and a fog that rolls in from every direction at once. I feel my Dad shove me to one side and wrap himself around me.

Then darkness.

I open my eyes with a groan. I'm laying on the couch in the apartment where I met with Tattletale and Yggdrasil. While I still have my mask on, a quick look under the blanket reveals nothing more than bandages and laundry day underwear. I squeak a little bit when I hear Tattletale behind me.

"Armsmaster underoos, really?"

I give my best mumble in response.

"I don't like spending alot of money on underwear and they were cheap, sue me."

I struggle into a sitting position, the movement made all the more difficult by the full body cramp that I feel like.

"You know, your power is weird."

I look over my shoulder, tracking Yggdrasil as she walks from a back room and into the kitchenette.

"Wierd how?"

"Well Tattletale and I were watching you after she pulled out all of the glass. Did you know you shapeshift in your sleep?"

Weird indeed.

"And how would I know that? I tend to be sleeping when I'm asleep."

Tattletale grinned at my sass.

"Well that answers the unasked question about who shares Moonstone's bed. I'll be sure to pass it along to PHO. Anyway, like Yggdrasil was saying, you morph a bit while you are sleeping. Anyway, while you seem to heal pretty fast, I noticed that the more you healed up, the slower and more subtle the shape changing got."

I couldn't help sighing a bit. Freaking nosy capes, making sure I don't die but learning about me in the process.

"Yeah. You remember me saying that I needed to 'stretch' before going to the long Max game? It's kind of like that. As near as I can tell, while I'm pretty versatile, when my body heals itself it wants me to stay in that shape. So while I feel pretty together now, if I were to go for something as major as the Max change during the next day to so, I could expect alot of those wounds to open back up. As it stands, I'm down to shrinking and selective embiggening."

They were both quiet for a moment, processing what I had revealed to them. Then, from the kitchen.

"You know that's not a real word, right?"

"Well let's agree to disagree."

I ended up napping for another few hours on the couch. We had agreed to stay together until we were sure the wire transfers had gone through. While Tattletale was reasonably certain everything had been locally processed before Purity made the bank go kablooie...better paid than sorry.

When nine a.m. rolled around I was doing my best zen impression. This consisted of sitting on the couch in a pair of loaned pajamas and eating fruity co-co sugar swirls while watching Quest Time on the Cartoon Station while Yggdrasil paced and Tattletale stared at the computer.

"Yes!"

Yggdrasil and I both turned towards where Tattletale was sitting, a huge smile plastered to her face. Addressing herself to Yggdrasil, Tattletale turned the computer so that the screen was visible from the room we were in.

"You Ma'am, are the proud owner of five point two million dollars, deposited into three off shore accounts."

"Five point two…..," I rolled my eyes back in my head and dramatically fell backwards onto the couch. Springing back up, I reached my arm across the room and patted Yggdrasil on the back.

"Millionaire! Nice!"

A curt nod greeted my enthusiasm.

Tattletale turned the computer back towards herself.

"And now for the matter of payment for services rendered."

The room got quiet. It occurred to me that Yggdrasil had been typing on the computer earlier, had spent hours in this apartment, touching…...all of the things. If she wanted to, she could double cross the shit out of us. Of course, Tattletale was the one currently logged into the banking software. She knew all of the account numbers, all of the passwords. Given what I knew about her from working with Lisa, it would be foolish not to think she had a script ready to go, a single keystroke that could make the money just evaporate. The pregnant pause continued, with me aware that, if I had these thoughts, both of them had the same thoughts.

Then Yggdrasil nodded, breaking the tension.

"Just like we agreed."

Tattletale nodded, clicked the mouse a few times, and handed the computer over.

"And done. $750,000.00 to myself and to Moonstone, the rest in the agreed upon holding accounts. I have the security page up now so you can change the password, and then you can move the money where you please. It was a pleasure working for you, maybe we can work with you sometime in the future."

I took another bite of my cereal, chewing and swallowing. Wait.

"We?"

Tattletale graced me with a knowing look.

"Yes we. I think we could do some great things together. After all, with the ABB and the Merchants contesting each other for the city, don't you think Brockton Bay could go for a better class of criminal?"

Yggdrasil and I both answered at the same time.

"Definitely."

 **Boston**

Accord sat behind his desk, carefully sealing an envelope containing instructions. He knew that they would be followed to the letter, all of his employee's knew what would happen were they not. Standing, he walked away from his desk, a proximity sensor powering down his computer as he left it's range. He paused before reaching the double doors, looking himself over in the mirror. It was always soothing, if not downright therapeutic, to bask in perfection before venturing out into the imperfect world.

Walking out of his office, Accord sealed the doors behind him, satisfied that multiple anti-intrusion devices were even now coming on line. Turning, he faced the yellow gowned woman who was waiting patiently for him.

"Come Citrine, Brockton Bay awaits."


	6. Chapter 6

Moonstone

Almost Origins (Part 1)

(NOTE: This story takes place *BEFORE* the first Moonstone story posted.

The world was dark. For a moment, as I became aware of myself, I wondered if I had died. I couldn't feel my body, had no real sense of time. Instead I simply existed. The dark existence lasted for what could have been seconds or hours. It was shattered by a panicked thought.

DAD!

All at once I began to struggle. Twisting, and turning, contorting my body, I felt the weight of something hard pressing in on me from all sides. Finally there was the sound of cracking rock, and cool breeze caressed the back of my neck. With a final grunt of effort I stood up...and promptly fell backwards as the collapsing material fell around me.

It was dark, but there were spotlights set up around the park…..illuminating what looked like statues. An errant beam of light shone on the face of the statue looming over me, that of a bespectacled middle aged man, tall and on the skinny side, who for all the world looked like he was protecting something precious.

" **DAD!"**

I woke up with a start. The dream, the memory of what had happened, fading into the background of my mind. It took me a few minutes, but the reality of my present managed to reassert itself. A little over five weeks had passed since that day in the park, what people were starting to call the Labyrinth Incident. Somewhere between 100 and 130 people, lost in a moment. The PRT and Protectorate were being tight lipped about the exact cause, but someone in the park had managed to livestream footage of the cape called Labyrinth freaking out about something shortly before everything….whatever everything was, happened. All that the public really knew what that, where previously the park had been filled with bustling people, it was now filled with solid stone images of those people. Based on some of the stances the new statues were in, the process hadn't been painless. Again the thought of going to the PRT came to mind...but considering the witchhunt that had fallen on Faultline when her connection to Labyrinth came out…...nope.

Instead of availing myself of the system, I laid in my cot in the woman's shelter and tried not to cry. My traitorous eyes began to water…..no, no, NO! I took a deep breath…..a really deep breath as my powers apparently decided to assert themselves and my chest and stomach expanded to a ridiculous degree. Holding the breath in for just a moment, I slowly released it. No time for self pity today, I had things to do.

Illegal things.

In the confusion following my emergence from the rock/cocoon thing, I could have easily ended up swept up in the panic gripping the city. Instead I was able to slip away. I wandered confused for a little bit. Had my head been clearer I would have realized that I had wondered into a bad part of Brockton...not that "bad part of Brockton" was an overly specific descriptor. Still, it wasn't an area that I would have chosen to go to…..alone…...at night. I had been shaken out of my fugue by a rough voice coming out of an ally.

"Hey girly, you looking for some….OH SHITTING CHRIST!"

I had turned around halfway through the guys pick up line and, for the first time in my life, believe I saw a grown man lose control over his bowels. I had cocked my head a little and took a step in his direction.

"Are you ok?"

Instead of answering me, the man instead turned around and ran down the alley as if he were staring down his imminent death. The randomness of it all is what had finally shaken the last of the cobwebs out of my head. Looking down, I realized that my clothing was different that what I had put on the morning Dad and I went to the park. Instead of jeans and a green hoodie, I was wearing black armor….and a cape? I ran down the road until I found a store window. Walking up to the window I was treated to the image the man in the alley saw.

"Fuck me I'm Alexandria."

Spoiler alert, I was not then, am not now, nor have I ever been Alexandria. In the somewhat confusing hours that followed, I was able to piece together some facts about myself. The first, admittedly obvious one, was that I had powers. At some point between my last memory of my Dad and my unplanned defecatory assistance, I had become a cape. The most likely culprit, because duh I'm not an idiot, was when I was in the rock thing. As far as the mechanics of it went….. I still didn't know. Still, I could change my size, change my appearance in some radical ways….and was homeless.

How did I end up homeless? Therein lies a tale. Not a good one. Mostly it involved me showing up to Kurt and Lacey's house. They were work friends of my Dad, and were pretty cool. They took me in and got the ball rolling. There were interviews with authorities, a crisis counselor, the whole nine yards.

Or rather about four and a half yards. That was when Alan "Durable Power of Attorney" Barnes showed up. Apparently my Dad had made arrangements for Alan to take over my care should something happen to him. It meant that I had to leave Kurt and Lacy's house and move into the Barnes household.

"It won't be so bad Taylor," Alan assured me, "you can stay in Emma's room until we get things squared away."

And thus concludes the story of how I became homeless. In the time between when I ran away and now I had practiced alot with my powers. The size changing came easy, particularly when it came to stretching myself out, growing or shrinking while in motion. Pulling an Alexandria….well that was harder. I could do it, and it was easier if I was more familiar with the person I was copying….but it was exhausting, akin to clenching a muscle and just holding it. Still, practice makes perfect, and I definitely got practice. I made sure that every night I checked into the shelter, and every morning that I left, I did so wearing a face I was never likely to forget. Walking out of the shelter this morning I waved good bye to the desk attendant.

"Have a good day Ms. Ballard."

She smiled and waved back.

"You too Sophia!"

Yeah….I may have some issues.

It's not that I planned on breaking the law. Well that's not true, I totally had a plan. I also had reasons.

Completely original villain here.

Even though I had run away, the Barnes still had the rights to everything Dad and I had owned. Apparently this came with a heaping pile of debt. I know this because, once I had finally worked up the courage to go by the house to try and liberate some things, I found it locked up with a bank auction notice stapled to the door. The house itself was locked, with the spare key missing from under the fake rock next to the back porch.

A quick look around ensured that no one was watching. A soft, golden glow suffused my body as I shrank down. Size changing was always weird. From my perspective, it was everything else that was changing size. With that in mind, I watched as my backdoor loomed larger and larger over me, until i was small enough to squeeze under it and into the house. Again the glow as I resumed my normal size.

And took in the emptiness of the house. Everything was gone.

Everything.

The kitchen was bare, cabinets empty. Pictures gone from the walls. I ran through the house, room to room, and couldn't find anything. Basement to attic, there was nothing left. Again I felt the itchiness fill my eyes.

Dumb, traitor emotions.

I'm not stupid, it was easy enough to figure out what had happened. The bank had already auctioned off everything that was in the house. Or if not, had packed it up and sent it off for a lot sale somewhere. All that was left to sell off was the house itself.

I slowly walked from room to room, sorry being replaced with resolve. This just wouldn't do. In the span of a few years I had lost my mom, my dad, my best friend (after a fashion) and now everything anyone in my family had ever owned.

Oh no, I would get something back.

Bad ass super powers were a go.

Author's note: So here we go, back in the Moonstone world. In this episode (which should be comparable to the first one) we get an almost origin story for our main character. Still not going into too much detail about the Labyrinth Incident, though those familiar with the powerswap should be able to figure it out.

And if this seems darker than the original outing, don't worry. This Moonstone will end up like that Moonstone in short order.


	7. Chapter 7

Almost Origins

Part 2

 **Several Days Later**

I know that I'm, technically speaking, a kid. Minor and all of that. High School drop out too I guess. Still, for all of my institutionally described lack of maturity, even I know that one is better off acting with a plan than winging it. It is for this reason, more than any other, that I followed my declaration of super powered revenge (or at least, theft) with days of library and public records research. Low and behold, I managed to learn that estate settlement was a complicated mess. For instance, I learned that Alan was under no obligation to accept my Dad's estate. Considering the debt that went with it, you would think he would just waive his rights, go to a memorial ceremony, and call it a day.

But no, it couldn't be that simple.

There was a good bit of noise suggesting that the Congress, at the behest of the PRT, was going to make a portion of Endbringer Relief Funds available for the families of the victims. If Alan waived his rights to the estate, he also waived any relief money that would conceivably be going towards the estate. At first I'll admit this didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. After all, why would my family be due any money? It's not like anyone was around to need the relief. Then it hit me…..I was still here. More research into the subject reinforced that interpretation. While most of the victims were identifiable, many were not. My Dad could be picked out….the shell that I had broken out of might have been me, or it could have been someone else. With that uncertainty in mind, Alan could argue that I was still out there somewhere (to be fair…..he would be right), and that he needed to receive any relief funds I was due in order to care for me when or if I'm found.

Dick.

The idea of money for Dad, money for me…..going to pay for Emma's photoshoots….. I quickly fled the library, making it to the alley before I lost the contents of my stomach. Taking a few moments to collect myself, I took stock of the situation. Being considered missing or dead worked for me. No need to go back to Winslow, no need to eat a shit sandwich on a daily basis. While the shelter worked for now, I would prefer to have a place of my own, to support myself. I also wanted to grab some pieces of my life to have with me. I took a moment and concentrated, the low golden glow suffusing me as my body changed shape. With a plan taking shape in my mind, people saw Principle Blackwell walk out of the alley and head down the street.

Money makes the world go round. Nasty truth of life, but there it is. If I wanted to get started on my plans, funding would be essential. Resolved to this course of action, I skulked through the Oaks of Marymont, an affluent subdivision located on the south side of Brockton. The houses here were easily worth $350,000 or more. Expensive luxury cars sat in driveways, a manned guard booth between the gates allowing ingress and egress. Of course that (I assume) highly paid guard did little good when I dashed through a small drainage pipe at the bottom of the communities wall. I had managed to cobble together a costume. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but it kind of went with the super powered criminal motif. Still, the plan was to burgle some homes, not fight Capes in the street, so subdued was the order of the day. Some black combat boots from the Salvation Army, cheap black leggings pulled up to the waist. Black t-shirt with a golden lightning bolt down the middle. I had recognized it as belonging to some band Dad had liked as a kid (at least, based on the way he would belt out the lyrics when they came on the car radio). Black biker jacket which had been liberally patched with electrical tape, zipped most of the way up. A simple domino mask completed the costume, with a small application of my power slightly changing my skin tone and the color of my hair. Instead of being incredibly pale with brown hair, I now had a decent tan going on while my hair went almost as black as my clothes.

For an outfit which had cost me a whopping $5.00 (for the leggings), I felt pretty bad ass. Of course I had to hold that feeling of badassery on the inside. If things went according to plan, no one would get to see my costume until after it had been upgraded a few times.

Sadly I hadn't been able to scout the neighborhood very thoroughly. Was scout the right word? Case maybe… Yes, I hadn't been able to case the neighborhood that well. No public busses came here, and it just seemed obvious that, this being an exclusive housing area, new people might be noticed. Still, I had managed to hitch a ride on a delivery truck the previous day, so I already had a few houses picked out.

First up was a very impressive looking two story affair, complete with a fenced in backyard, pool, detached guest house, fancy hedges, and flood lights as far as the eye could see. As far as I could tell, the floodlights had the ground completely covered. Sure, I could shrink down and probably hide in the grass…..but where was the fun in that? Instead I called on skills honed a lifetime ago, in the park not too far from Emma's house.

I climbed a tree.

It was located in a wooded patch about 300 feet from the edge of the property. Easily reaching 80 feet into the air, the lowest branches were more than twice my height from the ground. I dashed low to the ground until I was on the side of the tree opposite the house, mostly hidden from the street. Then I reached up…...and kept reaching. Trends in my power were starting to make themselves known. For instance, the soft golden light that I emitted when using it was more pronounced the greater a change in _type_ I performed. Radical changes, say from baseline Taylor to Bitch Queen Sophia, and I was a dull firefly. Stretch a limb, blow up a fist, or otherwise just jack with the rough dimensions of myself? Very subdued glow. Even so, I moved as quickly as I could, pulling myself up onto the first branch, then making my way higher, mostly in my normal shape. Once I got ¾ of the way up the tree, it was time to trade one childhood pastime for another. Hidden by the branches, a again glowed briefly as I shrank down to only a few inches in height, running along a branch towards the house. Coming to the edge of the branch I leapt into the air. Stretching myself as thin as I could, feeling the air catch me. While it was something that I couldn't legitimately do with my powers, for this moment I was 8 years old again.

I pretended I could fly.

It took some doing, but I managed to glide through the air towards the house. Seeing that I was in danger of overshooting my target, I stretched out my right arm and grabbed the chimney, the sudden tensions causing me to bank sharply through the air, until I touched down quietly onto the roof. Flattening myself, I pressed my ear hard against the surface and listened.

Nothing but the hum of a central air and heat unit. Climbing up onto the chimney, I dropped down into the house.

Ho, ho, ho.

Stepping out onto the hearth, I took a moment to dust off as much soot as I could. Then, I noticed the white carpet.

Fuck.

Necessity being the mother of invention though, a solution quickly came to mind. I peeled my boots off one at a time, then concentrated on my power. I felt my feet pulse briefly before taking on the appearance of the boots I had just removed. Leaving the dirty ones in front of the fireplace, I moved into the house.

Not going to lie, I practiced the hell out of this before coming here. Not the breaking and entering part….with my powers that part seemed obvious. More like, I practiced the, "leaving with more than I showed up with," part. The concept seemed intuitive based on how my powers work. I grow big (there had to be a better way of prasing that), my clothes and stuff grows big. I shrink, same thing. I ultimately determined that I could similarly grow and shrink about 100 pounds worth of shit, so long as it was contained in some way. There were limitations. I couldn't grow or shrink it unless I was growing (biggining?) or shrinking. If I shrank something down and then dropped it, it would stay small….until I went to sleep. Also it didn't work on anything alive that wasn't me.

With all of this in mind, I pulled a large sack out of my jacket pocket and shook it open. It would be less than honest if I didn't admit to a strong desire to paint a large dollar sign on the side of the sack. Ultimately I decided it wouldn't be appropriate for burglary. Creeping through the house, I noted the nice things it was filled with. The TV, computers (plural), plates that I secretly suspected of being _china_ , fur coats….basically I noted everything. Compared to what I had grown up with, everything was nice.

Priorities though.

Two of the laptops went into the sack, along with a cellphone. A wallet was located and made $300 lighter. I was tempted to take the credit cards, but instead just took pictures of their front and back with the phone. The TV wouldn't fit in my sack…..or Dad's car…..or my bedroom probably, so it was left where it was. The HD-DVD player went into the sack though. Making my way upstairs, I crept as soundlessly as I could (true fact: I creep pretty damn soundlessly). There were four bedrooms upstairs, a hall bath, a game room room, and an office. From the gameroom several gaming systems decided they would rather leave with me. One bedroom had a sleeping baby in it. I noped right out of that one. Bedroom two had some late elementary or early middle school kid asleep in the bed. Based on her closet, she was a private school kid (go figure). Based on the very expensive looking rosary…..Catholic? So Immaculata bound probably. I slipped the rosary into my bag, only feeling a little more guilty over it than the other items. I'm sure she could get another one.

The third bedroom was empty.

Furnished, but empty.

At one time it had been the bedroom of a boy, as evidenced by several pictures in frames and the general sense of "boyness" that it gave off. I say at one time, because as far as I could tell no one used it now. The dresser was empty, the closet bare of everything, including hangers. I was about to leave the room when a conversation I once overheard between Greg and Sparky (regretfully overheard) decided to move to the forefront of my mind. Crossing back to the bed, I lifted the top mattress away from the boxspring.

Even knowing it wouldn't help, I still went into the bathroom and washed my eyes out. Last time I base any decision on a Greg or Sparky conversation. No money under the mattress, just…..magazines.

Two rooms left to check out. Master bedroom, and office. I hit the office first. It was…..nice? Bland but nice. Reddish wood desk, heavy chair, book cases filled with books. I looked the books over excitedly before noting most of them were medical reference books of one kind or another. Apparently I was stealing from a doctor. A third laptop joined the first two in my bag. On a whim I checked under the desk calendar and almost squeed.

Jackpot!

Doctor Information Security had written down passwords, bank account numbers and (conveniently labeled), a list of "secret questions." Again I snapped some pictures, then carefully put the desk calendar back where it was. Hopefully this would buy be a day or two to try and capitalize on his charity. Making my way into the master bedroom I decided not to mess around. A jewelry box was located, the contents quietly moved into my sack. A money clip was taken from the dresser, adding what looked to be another $500 to my haul. A loud snore made me jump…...and decide that my luck was already pressed to the limit. Turning my back on the bed, I made my way out of the room.

Retracing my steps through the house, I put my real boots back on and stepped into the chimney. Stretching my way towards the roof I elected to just step off the back of the house and into the woodline instead of repeating my glider trick. The sack of loot I was carrying made the aerodynamics of that move….tricky. Once in the woods, I glanced at my watch. I had climbed the tree at 15 minutes after 1 am. It was now just shy of 2:30am. All in all, not bad. I crept through the woods until I came to the short stretch of open grass I had to cross to reach the drainage pipe…

And came face to face with a thin figure, dressed black and red motley, her face painted an off-white. A large smile lit up her face, though her eyes were slightly narrowed and warry.

"You're new."

Author's note: And entry two into this story goes up. As you can see, this one is called Moonstone: An Almost Origin. Yes, this is Circus that she has encountered. In the first Moonstone story I put up, I had it built in that they had encountered each other before, on multiple occasions (not too many capes doing the cat burglar thing in the Bay). Circus will figure in the next installment of this story, but should make her exit fast enough. I will say that this won't be a repeat of what we saw the first time.

I'm aware that there isn't alot of action in this one. That should pick back up a little in the next one.


End file.
